Harry Potter and the Ace of Hearts
by Jamie Brooks
Summary: Post HBP. Harry Potter, Horcrux Hunter. Harry cant nearly equal Voldemort so his hopes rely on an ace up his sleeve. Can he discover what it is and how to use it?


Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I just like writing. I am sorry if I steal any ideas from other fanfics.

**The World Changes**

The smallest bedroom, Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey, empty. When one looked into the bedroom there was no sign of anyone, just layers of dust and a few newspapers piled up on a rarely used desk. Though, when one looked at these papers, on top was a few thousand pounds with a note pined on "16 years rent". However the strangest thing was the title of these newspapers. The Daily Prophet. When had anyone heard of such a newspaper?

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**Daily Prophet**

**Wanted: Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.**

**Wanted for murder for their involvement is Albus Dumbledore's murder.**

**DO NOT APPROACH.**

**Call the Auror Department immediately if sighted.**

**Any information leading to the capture of these two will lead to a 1000 galleons reward.**

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**Daily Prophet**

**Duelling Re-instated.**

**The Ministry of Magic dropped the ban of duelling yesterday in the hope of citizens taking up duelling again in order to defend themselves from Death Eater incursions.**

**Duelling has been banned since the 20th century but before that it was the favoured sport of many and a nation pride with Britain often hosting the greatest of duellers. However a series of messy kills, a surge in illegal underage duelling and poor interest due to the emergence of quidditch as a national sport, forced the sport to be banned.**

**A number of duelling schools have opened and a surge of personal trainers offering their services to potential duellers. However the Auror office has warned the public about potential fake schools and trainers.**

**A cry has been taken up by some who wish this decision to be rescinded. One member of the public who wishes to be unnamed said, "This will just encourage death eaters, it is time the Ministry did something right. Now death eaters will be out there publicly duelling to the death under disguise and no-one can do a damn about it until someone's killed."**

**The Ministry hope to set up a national league of some sort in the future…**

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**Daily Prophet**

**Knockturn Alley shut.**

**The gates to knockturn alley have been shut against the light. Shopkeepers and regular shoppers shut the gates at midnight and have laid down a penalty of death on any Auror's/MLE or any light wizard or witch daring to enter the alley.**

"**Finally, now we have freedom from the blasted ministry of magic," One shopkeeper said, and then added, "It is only natural, with such an incompetent ministry and Dumbledore dead there is no need to stay neutral. Allegiance to the Dark Lord is only natural progression after Dumbledore's death. Goods that have otherwise been banned under this ministry can be freely traded now which bodes well for me."**

**Many attempts to gain entry knockturn alley by the Ministry have been unsuccessful. Anti-Apparition and Portkey wards among other wards and every floo connection has been destroyed which means magical transport into the alley is impossible. The gates of the alley are enchanted and have suspect death eater involvement in the creation and maintenance. No magic sticks to the gates they are unlock able and have resisted all attempts to break them down, even sorcery has failed in its quest to break the gates down.**

**The days have grown dark indeed, in this reporter's opinion.**

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**Daily Prophet.**

**Duelling leagues set up.**

**Little nondescript buildings in magical locations have been set up to provide local duelling leagues. Then in May sometime, each local league will sponsor duellers to enter a ministry tournament in the summer for a grand prize.**

**Each local league will be hosted in these buildings set up. Each building will hold approximately 10 arena's each inbuilt with wards preventing any spell leaving the arena and measures to prevent dark arts.**

**8 arenas will be plain with a wooden floor and two lines which indicate a starting position. These will be used for ranked duels and league match duels.**

**1 arena at each location will hold a real-life situation and place. One example is a wizarding house complete with multiple floors.**

**The last arena will hold team duels with battles of up to 5v5. The arena will be designed much like the official 8 arenas with few differences.**

**The arenas can be hired for private use however a referee is required for any match league or private. Leagues will occur on certain days with duellers placed in leagues based on ability. Winners of each league will receive prizes based on the difficulty league they are in.**

**Magical Law Enforcement hope to use each place as a scouting ground to recruit defence specialists to bolster their ranks.**

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**Daily Prophet**

**Narcissa Malfoy Murdered.**

**Narcissa Malfoy was found brutally murdered yesterday by a Malfoy house elf. The murder occurred at roughly 10pm on Wednesday night. Malfoy is a known socialite who hosts parties and balls for her friends and is also a known death eater sympathiser.**

**The murder is baffling many expert investigators no magic was used except a dark mark branded between her breasts. It appears a sword was used and each cut was so clean and precise that no metal fragments were found imbedded in her body. Nothing was found disturbed and the wards are untouched. The only clue was the word _castigationis _which roughly translates as punishment from Latin…**

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**Daily Prophet**

**Potter Inheritance unclaimed.**

**Gringotts goblins yesterday told the Daily Prophet that Mr Harry Potter has not claimed his rightful inheritance.**

**The boy-who-lived turned 17 a few days ago and the goblins issued a letter to Potter, which was returned undelivered. After the letter Gringotts attempted to contact Potter personally but turned up short again. Where in the world is Harry Potter?**

**This reporter asked Neville Longbottom this question, "I don't know where Harry is but personally he is saving the world somewhere. There is nothing in any vault in any bank that could turn his life around and make him into a super wizard. Becoming a great wizard is all done on blood sweat and tears and that's what he's doing now hopefully…"**

**Personally this reporter believes that Potter is protecting himself from certain cursed letters and letter bombs that could come his way. Also training to protect the wizarding world from ruin is certainly not a bad thing but maybe a wasted effort.**

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**Daily Prophet**

**Muggles Invade Ministry**

**Rufus Scrimgeour yesterday consulted muggles to turn the Ministry of Magic around. Certain muggle entrepreneurs were contacted and will be oblivated after their work is done.**

**Each department is to be given new budgets and reorganized. "Modern Business Practices" are to be introduced. These include a new Human resource department who will look after all employees. Other improvements will include organizational charts to show where everyone is and a "delayering" process which means eliminating useless middle managers. New communication systems are being developed and tested as magical "walkie talkies" for Aurors.**

**Many upstanding purebloods believe the ministry have gone mad and many agree with them.**

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**Daily Prophet**

**MLE redeveloped…**

**The Magical Law Enforcement department has been given fresh life. The department will be split in two with Aurors on one side and MLE on the other.**

**The MLE will have a head with two subordinate heads of each department. It will also be renamed as Magical Law and Order.**

**The Auror side will be transformed into a specialised soldier service. Dawlish has been chosen as head of this branch. The new mission statement will be "Protecting Britain from Dark Wizards". To this statement the Aurors will be focusing all efforts on the problem of You-Know-Who.**

**Each chosen Auror will go on a retraining course for 8 weeks. The new training for new recruits will look more like: Spellwork, Combat Training, Mentality, Conditioning and Combat, creating a crème-de-la-crème of MLO and fighting personnel all over the world.**

**This is hoped to make the Auror department more specialised and smaller allowing it to deal with the terrorist guerrilla war You-Know-Who is fighting.**

**The other branch is MLE and will be the new order side of the MLO. The head is unknown at this point. Enforcing law and order on Britain. This branch will aim to be a visible security presence and will deal with the mundane side of the law such as regurgitating toilets and common criminals.**

**Hit Wizards and other Ministry defence personal will be abolished and transformed into MLE officers.**

**Stun Batons (American Idea) a wooden extendable pole with a red glow which stuns on contact have been distributed to all in the MLO. Also magical walkie talkies have been issued to Auror combat teams to improve communication. These walkie talkies look like muggle headsets charmed to resist disarming and removement. They use radio waves and are enchanted to work in magical area's however they still run on muggle electricity.**

**Hopefully this transformation will finally provide the resistance needed to You-Know-Who and to maybe overcome his threat.**

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The Barrows- Voldemort's Lair. Months Earlier…

The Dark Lord Voldemort sat on a thrown made from muggle human skulls and surveyed his thrown room.

_Finally all my work has been accomplished. Potter will come to me and I will deal with him accordingly. Why waste resources locating him?_

The door opened to reveal Bellatrix Lestrange stumbling in with awe.

"Master this is your greatest work…"

Indeed it was Voldemort's new lair was a masterpiece built underground with no door in or out. Infact, the lair was no longer even in Britain it was situated in a dimension created by the dark lord. The only way in or out was by the dark lord's call or leave or by means of a magical portal situated underground in Sussex. However one needed a dark mark to enter the portal and the portal was almost impossible to get to due to the runic door protecting it.

"Give your arm Bella it is time to call Severus and Draco out of hiding…"

Bellatrix presented her arm without hesitation and with one stroke from a finger of Voldemort's the dark mark burned and turned jet black. To Bellatrix's credit she never jerked once and never flinched a mite.

Pop. Pop

Two simultaneous pop's licked the air and in a whirl of cloaks two men appeared out of thin air which also signalled Bella's leave. Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy did not look well both were covered in filth and grime from their laying low in a werewolf hot spot.

"Master…"

Both grovelled before the dark lord in obedience and kissed the hem of his robes. Then they shuffled backwards and stayed knelt.

"Severus, stand..." a silky hiss cut the air. Voldemort continued, "You have done well, yet you have disobeyed my orders." The words hung in air before a startling shout erupted from the dark lords mouth, "On who's whim!!!"

Snape waited before answering coolly answering, "An unbreakable vow, my lord."

"Who's. No don't answer. I already can guess, I shall deal with this later. Personally." Voldemort mused,"You are dismissed Severus." He added as an afterthought.

A crack sounded through the air after the usual obedience ritual from Snape. Then a few moments of silence turned into minutes of silence before the sound of a shift of knee came from Malfoy before the dark lord continued.

"I believe, Draco reward and punishment is in order. Your reward my servant shall be the return of your father to my side." Voldemort said softly, "Yet punishment is also in order for not carrying my orders to the letter. I think I can kill two birds in one stone. You will know of your punishment Draco when the time comes. You will also have to kill on my orders Malfoy sometime, Infact sometime soon, very soon"

Silence hung in air once more until,

"You are welcomed back my loyal dragon, back into the fold…"

"Thank you my lord. Thank you…" Draco sobbed joyously.

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Sirens rang in the air in central London as Police swarmed through the streets. The banks of the Thames were covered in blood. With a weird firework hanging in the air

Reports had rushed in of weirdo's in masks surrounding Cleopatra's needle and screams were head from the area.

PC Michelle Pope rushed onto the scene to discover she was the first. Investigating the area she discovered droplets of blood in the vicinity and discovered they pooled around the base of the needle.

She searched for a body but the only evidence she could find of anyone being here was the blood and a strange strait stick made of wood, which was found dropped by the base of the monument.

Taking a closer look at the historic monument she pointed her flashlight at the blood and found nothing extraordinary about it. Following the blood up to the plate detailing what the needle was she found blood on the top of the plate. Following the trail upwards she found more drops on the shaft and on instinct pointed her torch up. A scream erupted from her mouth and she dropped her flashlight as she ran to the safety of a red phone booth where she used her radio to call for the murder department of the Met.

Following her last line of sight one would see Hestia Jones impaled on the top of Cleopatra's Needle being softly silhouetted by the glow of the dark mark.

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A large circle of death eaters were gathered around the throne of the dark lord in the barrows. Each one was waiting for the appearance of their lord.

A subtle shift in the air, marked Voldemort's arrival as he appeared out of thin air into the middle of the circle. Every death eater quickly knelt. Voldemort strode up to and took his throne without a word. A hand gesture issued the command to rise.

Voldemort began, "My loyal this will be the one and only time you will all be gathered before me collectively. Change is in the winds my servants. With Dumbledore dead, I hope to overwhelm the ministry soon. One of you shall be raised to govern Britain the magical strongpoint of the world while I shall take court in Hogwarts which I shall descend on later. Train, master the dark arts, I beseech you but always be ready for my call and orders."

Voldemort paused while the death eaters tensed in excitement, "It is time my inner circle is reborn. My most faithful shall ascend to this lofty position. Seven is the most powerful magical number and so there shall be seven inner circle members…" he continued.

"Severus Snape." Rang through the air harshly. Death eaters collectively looked on Snape with admiration yet with malice. Dumbledore's assassin was an expected fixture in the circle.

"Lucius Malfoy" rang out again. Surprise ran through the gathering, it was well known the dark lord was not pleased with Lucius's efforts at the department of mystery. Malfoy had only just been sprung silently from Azkaban and replaced with a polyjuiced replica.

"Cadsuane Miranda" Fear shivered in the ranks. The legendary witch tended to have that effect an ex-auror and healer she was extremely powerful and deadly and tended to do things her own way. None would dare try and backstab her for her position it was fraught with difficulties.

"James Brooks" Another legend and a gem from the latest recruitment effort. A strong wizard and an ex-auror poster boy. James carried out an order from Voldemort quickly and efficiently and had been in the dark lord's good books from day one. A dangerous foe.

"Bellatrix Lestrange" Another given, it was set in stone from when the dark lord mentioned his plans for the inner circle. Frequently called His Most Loyal.

"Antonin Dolohov" The dark wizard nodded his thanks to the dark lord. A famed killer and researcher in Voldemort's service yet it was still a bit of a surprise.

"Lastly," Voldemort almost tasted the air with his tongue, "Peter Pettigrew…"

A silent outcry went out from the assembled death eaters. How such a weak wizard could gain such a position was beyond any of them. As each of the death eaters contemplated and began their plans for Pettigrew seeing the weak link and the possible step to the inner circle.

_This shall keep the rat sweet and stop him from betraying. A danger yet he is also useful. _These were the thoughts of the dark lord.

With a swish of his yew wand, Voldemort conjured and sent scrolls of paper with explicit instructions to the selected recipients.

"You may all leave…" signalled the end for this meeting of the scourge of Britain.

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This ends the 1st chapter of my intended novel length fanfiction. You will see Harry next chapter.


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